Wide-format vs Pictrography

August 21, 2006 2:15 PM

Wide-format printers: best models and per-print pricing? Or to go with a Pictrography?

I am considering the purchase of either a Fuji Pictrography 4000 printer or wide-format printer for an imaging facility for biological sciences.

The wide-format printer would be used for printing research posters and the like, while the Pictro 4000 would be used for printing images for submission to journals. It can print fairly large, which is why I might consider this over a wide-format unit.

I'm pretty familiar with the Pictro 3000 model, and imagine the 4000 model would not be too different, but for its print size.

Specifically regarding wide-format printers:

• What are the best printers out there?
• What features should I look for?
• Cost-recovery: How much should I charge end users per print, to be able to recoup consumables costs?

Can I drop consideration of a wide-format printer, and instead have end users use a Pictro 4000 for building research posters? Is this realistic? Perspectives from research scientists would be useful here.

Thanks!

posted by Blazecock Pileon to Technology (4 answers total)

Response by poster: I should also mention I would need to share this printer within a primarily Mac-based operation. Windows connectivity is nice but unnecessary.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:18 PM on August 21, 2006

the Pictro 4000 would be used for printing images for submission to journals.

Do some journals demand printed figures/images? Science wants all submissions to be digital.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:09 PM on August 21, 2006

Response by poster: Some still do, yes.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:11 PM on August 21, 2006

Yeah, it's rare and unfortunate, but some do still require hard copy. We usually just send our posters to Kinko's.

_{We do have a Pictrography, but I've never seen anyone use the thing.}
posted by Mr. Gunn at 8:04 PM on August 22, 2006